Union letters to the editor

Support the Protecting Our Democracy Act

To the Editor:

It’s no secret that Congress is polarized. Rarely does an issue receive strong bipartisan support. That’s why it’s so striking that 4 out of 5 voters agree that we must do more to safeguard our democracy from presidential corruption.

No president, regardless of party, should be able to exploit weaknesses in our political system for their personal gain. That’s where the Protecting Our Democracy Act comes in. If passed, it would prevent future abuse of presidential power and corruption, increase transparency, and ensure presidents of either party can be held accountable.

If the average person used their office for personal gain, they’d go to jail. If the average person could pardon themselves, there would be no rule of law. Therefore, no president should be above the law. It’s just common sense.

I’m urging Congress to pass the Protecting Our Democracy Act. It’s time we put safeguards in place to prevent a corrupt president of any party from abusing the power of their office.

Mary Lou J. Williams

Fairfield

On March 22, 2021, 12 people were shot in Boulder, Colo. Ten were killed. On April 2, the same year, not even two weeks after the shooting in Boulder, Governor Reynolds signed HF756 into law. This law, among other things, removes the requirement for a gun owner to have a license or permit to carry a gun. She signed this bill even though she had previously said that the previous law was sufficient. Jeff Shipley, our local state representative, voted in favor of this bill.

As a teenager growing up in the Chicago area, I would occasionally go to a diner in a different part of the city. One day, the man behind the counter asked me where I was from. When I answered him he pulled out a gun and said "We don't like people from your neighborhood." Try to imagine how that feels.

Most of us who are older never went to school having to pass through a metal detector, never had to see an armed guard in our hallways, never had to undergo shooting drills periodically. Most of us were never exposed to high end assault weapons.

This is not to say that more restrictive gun ordinances will solve all the problems of mass shootings. But it would at least be a start and would show that our local office holders take their job seriously. Ultimately, they are the ones we should hold accountable.

Charles Winter

Fairfield

Where’s concern for preborn females?

Norma, Norma, Norma! After reading your May 18 letter to the editor, Norma Lindeen, entitled "No right to force beliefs on others," I just had to respond.

You are concerned about "the many females who have died from botched (I assume you mean self-induced) abortions." Where is your concern for the untold number of preborn female babies who have died from abortion? You state many females will die if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Many females have died *because* of Roe v. Wade. Babies are killed through abortion *because* they are female. Are you familiar with sex-selection abortion?

Norma, there is no such thing as a safe abortion - someone always dies - and sometimes two people die, even though abortions are currently "safe and legal." Check out how many women die from "safe, legal" abortions or how many are forever wounded, either physically or mentally.

So, actually, Norma, if Roe v. Wade is "destroyed" as you say, many females will live!

Karen Crossland

Fairfield